Hello, I'm a 24 year old guy from Seattle and I need some advice and a potential travel buddy. My basic plan is to start in Melbourne. On Monday, March 3, I will take a camper van and head northbound towards Cairns through an approximately 2 week journey of much hiking and sight seeing and beaching. That should bring me to Cairns around March 17th. My schedule is flexible, so if someone wants to come along to split costs, and can suggest a modified plan that works for them, feel free to let me know.

In short: What should I see along the way for hiking, sight seeing (cheap is key), and who wants to come and split travel costs

Best of luck. But you should know that the Fodors crowd are predominately 5 star people and are really only interested in resorts and Port Douglas. They'd be scared to death by the trip you are proposing.

So suggest you post on the Thorn Tree (www.lonelyplanet.com). That's also now been taken over by the 12 day husband and I brigade but you'd still get better info there.

Cheers.

Hi Withwings,
You've chosen a great route - and with 2 weeks, you will be able to see quite a lot along the Eastern Seaboard.

If you are renting the campervan, have you resolved the issue of <25 y.o. driver? I know someone else on the Australian board just now is having problems and would appreciate your input.

I'm not a surfer, but there are myriad spots along your route which are popular - just ask the locals in the towns you visit.

Here's a link to some hiking that might be a start for you: www.sydney-australia.biz/nsw/nsw-coast.

Thanks for the replies!

I guess I'll keep looking on thorn tree for a travel buddy.

As for the camper van, it seems that www.drivenow.com.au has a good search function and helped me find a good deal on a camper van with a minimum driver age of 18... so I suppose that should work, assuming there's no major catches.

Hey, easy with the 5-star stuff, afterall. Fodors is home to a lot of budget travellers too, me included. I've even stayed in a hostel.

Having said that, Fodorites do tend to be, um, mature, and there aren't many surfer dudes here. I agree that the Lonely Planet site is the place to post. I also most strongly recommend that you buy a good guidebook, like Lonely Planet's "Australia". That will provide more useful info than you can get from any website.